Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 274 Commander Li on Yue Qianli

Once the battle report of the Fifth War Zone was released, it instantly caused a sensation throughout the country. The battle situation was difficult, and any victory would be called a great victory;
So the whole country celebrated, and the morale of the army and the people was boosted.

Then the Central China Front Army also announced the results of the battle on the southern front, annihilating 3 enemies and suffering thousands of casualties. It also achieved a great victory on the southern front, and the capture of Xuzhou was just around the corner.

Such good news also spread across the ocean back to Japan, and the whole country was also jubilant, with millions of people taking to the streets to celebrate the great victory;

Groups of young people rushed to the recruitment points, fanatically shouting that they wanted to expand the territory for the emperor. It didn't matter if they had no official status, they could just serve as supplementary soldiers.

The headquarters took the opportunity to gain another wave of public support and recruited tens of thousands of cannon fodder - or should we say, reinforcements - and sent them directly to the Chinese battlefield.

Lies are something that sometimes, if told too often, you end up believing them yourself. Fujita Shin believed it anyway;

With the arrival of 15000 reinforcements, he very generously gave 2 men to each of the other two divisions, and gave the rest to the four main regiments. The baggage regiment also received a small amount, after all, someone had to transport the baggage.

Of course, this number of people cannot fill the establishment, but it can still operate normally. Giving some people to the other two divisions is also to shut them up;

After the replenishment, the 13rd Division began to rest, and the 9th Division and the th Division also stopped. The entire war machine on the southern front was put on pause.

Fujita's tricks could fool the hot-headed people in Japan, but they couldn't fool the discerning people. Admiral Li smiled and said to Chief of Staff Xu Zuyi:
"Yan Mou, it seems that the Third Division has really been hurt. Commander Yue's battle report is credible. The southern front is safe now."

Chief of Staff Xu graduated from the third artillery class of the Baoding Military Academy. He was a classmate of the Guangxi clique's Bai Jiansheng. After graduation, he went to Japan to study, and studied at the Army Academy and the Army University. He is one of the few generals in China who has studied at both the Army Academy and the Army University in Japan.

As a native of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he was not valued by the Military Commission after graduation. When the Fifth War Zone was established, he was recommended by General Bai and served as the Lieutenant General Chief of Staff of the Fifth War Zone, and was highly regarded by General Li.
In addition to his experience studying in Japan and his new identity as a member of the Guangxi clique, he was already regarded as their right-hand man and all important matters would be discussed with him.

Chief of Staff Xu took over and said:
"Mr. De, according to intelligence, the Central China Front Army has added 1 men to the Southern Front Corps, and it had added 5 men before.
Most of these reinforcements were given to the 1rd Division, which means that the 5rd Division's absolute losses since the battle on the southern front have exceeded people.

Previously, the 21st Army reported that the number of enemy troops killed was only a few thousand, which means that the number of enemy troops killed reported by Division Commander Yue was true;
The 13rd Division drew the th Division from the right wing, doubling their strength but stopping south of the Huai River. This can only mean that they have suffered serious injuries! "

Although General Li had only studied at the Guangxi Army Speed ​​​​Training School, he was the kind of person who was born with knowledge of military affairs. The 7th Steel Army in the Northern Expedition was fought out. He understood human nature and understood some things at a glance without any intelligence support.

"Yanmou, Fujita Jin's little cleverness can only fool fools. He didn't report the results of the battle on the southern front earlier or later, but chose to report it at this critical moment.

It is nothing more than using the entire southern front to cover up their huge losses in Bengbu City, to explain away the results of the battle, and then to play some word games, which are all left over from our ancestors. "

Chief of Staff Xu and Commander Li smiled knowingly, and everything was said without words.

Commander Li was obviously very interested in talking, and continued:
"This Yue Qianli is really a fierce general. He took on the Third Division with only 4 men, annihilated over enemies, and suffered only over casualties. It is very rare to achieve such an exchange ratio. The young are truly formidable!"

"Duke De, throughout the thousands of years of Chinese history, whenever there was a life-and-death crisis, there would always be a young general emerging. Commander Yue is a prime example of someone who remained silent for three years but then made a stunning debut."

Commander Li waved his hand and said, "Although Yue Qianli appeared out of nowhere, the crown on his head was stained red with the blood of countless devils;
The more talented young people like this the better; it is always better than letting those who are just sitting there doing nothing occupy high positions.

China has such a good general, it is a great honor for the country and the nation!"

Chief of Staff Xu also expressed his deep agreement, saying that they are broad-minded enough to accommodate others.

Chief of Staff Xu took over and said:
"Mr. De, the battlefield on the southern front has stabilized, and Yue Qianli has volunteered to fight. Have you considered transferring the guerrilla column to the northern front?"

Commander Li's heart was moved, but he still waved his hand and said:

"Don't worry. Although the guerrilla column achieved great results in the battle of Bengbu, it also suffered heavy casualties. We should at least give it a rest for a while.
Nearly half of the guerrilla column was killed or wounded. After all, they are the direct descendants of the Central Army. If we kill them all, Commander Tang will have some ideas and worry that we are intentionally consuming the Central Army, which will affect unity. "

Chief of Staff Xu was immediately full of admiration for Commander Li. At least he didn't consider these things. This is the difference between a general and a commander.

The commander-in-chief of the army must consider all aspects, and he also overlooked one point, that is, Yue Qianli has already been in the limelight enough, and one unit cannot always take the lead, which is also not conducive to unity.

The commander had to balance all aspects. After all, with hundreds of thousands of troops, he couldn't rely on only one troop to fight, and he also couldn't disappoint Yue Qianli, so he let them rest first and allocated some food and ammunition, which also appeased him.

As the 3rd Division and the guerrilla column on the southern front entered a state of rest and recuperation, the fighting between the two sides came to an end;

The fellow villagers from the north city returned one after another. After a long time, they could not bear it anymore. The guerrilla column did not stop them. Instead, it sent some personnel to help them rebuild their homes.

The villagers in Beicheng did not resent the Nationalist Army because the war destroyed their homes. They survived tenaciously on this land like weeds.

Every year there is a cycle of withering and flourishing; wild fire cannot burn everything; it will grow again with the spring breeze.

In late March, on the northern front, at Kangzhuang west of Taierzhuang, an encounter battle was taking place at the outer position of the 3st Division.
The Japanese vanguard Takao Squadron broke into the defense zone of the 31st Battalion of the 185th Regiment of the st Division. A fierce battle broke out between the two sides and the outer battle of the Taierzhuang Campaign began.

The Takao Squadron belonged to the Seya Detachment of the 10th Division. They did not take the defenders seriously at all. A single squadron dared to launch an attack on a battalion of defenders.

Seeing that the Japanese were extremely aggressive, the battalion commander, Major Zhang Zhenbo, immediately ordered a counterattack and boldly let the Japanese into the position;
Captain Takao screamed with excitement when he saw the charge reach the defenders' position.

Zhang Zhenbo pulled out the Northwest Army's iconic broadsword from his back and shouted:
"Brothers, kill the devils!"

Rows of Northwest Army men rushed towards the Japs with their swords raised high. Captain Gao saw that the defenders dared to fight them with swords, so he led the Japs to meet them. The two sides started hand-to-hand combat, and the two torrents collided fiercely.

(End of this chapter)